Poultry processing equipment



July 28, 1959 R. D. PlTTS ET AL I POULTRY PROCESSING EQUIPMENT 4Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 15, 1957 m f I a 6 J K i w 5 Om F. m w m 1w 6 m3 w a n i H 1| A f -L w V m 5 HM wm PC. m 0 6 7 rm 4 m m B m July 28,1959 R. D. PITTS ET AL POULTRY PROCESSING EQUIPMENT 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 vFiledMay 13, 1957 W mum/raps. ROBERT 0. P/rzs FEEDER/CK C (*0/25)? ,4TTOPNEK 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 /N VENTOPS. ROBERT D. 1 /7715 FEEDER/CK C.(O/PE Y 74am, 44,1, ,4 TTUPNEY -R. D. PlTTS ET AL POULTRY PROCESSINGEQUIPMENT July 28, 1959 Filed May 15, 1957 July 28, 1959 R. D. PITTSETAL 2,896,249

POULTRY PROCESSING EQUIPMENT Filed May 13, 1957' 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 1| W"n W (ml j //V VENTO/PJ.

P0554 7 0. 1 /775 F/PfDfP/CK C C' 014 5 V BYv 7% A 7TO/P/YE K 2,896,249POULTRY PRocEssiNG EQUIPMENT Robert Donald Pitts and Frederick C. Corey,Cedar Rapids, Iowa, assignors to Pickwick Company, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, acorporation of Iowa Application May 13, 1957, Serial No. 658,563

2 Claims. (Cl. 17-45) This invention concerns the apparatus and methodof removing the feathers from poultry and the like and more particularlyone employing a large volume of heated liquid as the carrier of poultryin a confined area.

At the present time, commercial poultry picking operations generally usea two-stage method of removing feathers from poultry, the first stagebeing scalding the bird for a period of thirty seconds to two minutes ata predetermined fixed temperature, the most common temperatures being126 degrees, 138 degrees, 140 degrees and 145 degrees. After thescalding operation, the bird is next subjected to a picking action in amechanical picker. The picker will include a drum having a number ofprojecting rubber fingers on it and being revolved at approximately 200revolutions per minute. The bird is held in contact with these fingersand the drum, either by shackles,.by hand, or by sheet metalpositioners, or by its own weight.

The scalding operation is necessary in order to loosen the feathersafter the bird has been killed. As the bird cools in the pickingoperation, the feathers become more set and harder to remove. Theabrasive action of the mechanical picker must be increased and theopportunities for bruising and barking or cutting the bird increaseproportionally to the cooling action of the bird.

It is therefore a primary object of our invention to provide a method ofremoving feathers from a fowl in which the bird is held at asui'liciently high temperature to keep the feathers loose in the skinsof the birds.

It is another object of our invention to provide a method and a devicein which a bird is continuously tumbled by a large volume of turbulentwater or other liquid within a confined area.

It is still another object of our invention to provide a device and amethod wherein the rapidly moving bird is repeatedly brushed by aplurality of resilient feather removing elements.

It is still another object of our invention to provide a device in whichthe length of time the bird is subject to such rapidly moving turbulentaction is fixed by the control of the volume and the extent of movementof the liquid.

It is again another object of our invention to provide a method and adevice in which a plurality of birds may be subjected to the featherremoving operation in continuous sequence.

Other and further features and objects of the invention will be moreapparent to those skilled in the art upon a consideration of theaccompanying drawings and following specifications, wherein aredisclosed several exemplary embodiments of the invention, with theunderstanding, however, that such changes may be made therein as fallwithin the scope of the appended claims without departing from thespirit of the invention.

In said drawings:

Figure 1 is a view in cross section of a device, constructed accordingto one embodiment of our invention,

rates att:

which employs the feather removing method hereinafter set forth.

Figure 2 is a top View of the device shown in Figure 1, the centralhousing being shown in cross section.

Figure 3 is a view partially in cross section, of an-' other embodimentof our device employing our method and in which poultry is defeatheredin a continuous linear flow.

Figurev 4 is yet another embodiment of our invention in which thedirection of flow of the poultry and liquids is in a vertical directionof substantial length with a center discharge column.

Figure 5 is a side view of the lower portion of the device shown inFigure 4, showing the drain portion 1 thereof, and

Figure 6 is a view in section taken at A--A of Figure 5 to show themeans of separating feathers from the discharge water.

Referring now to the drawings, and particularly to Figure l; theessential elements of the apparatus shown therein being a water orliquid storage tank 11, a central housing 12 in which the. poultry isdefeathered, and a centrifugal pump 13 which transfers water from thestorage tank to the central housing.

In the device shown in Figure 1, the storage tank is a circular opentank having a sheet metal wall 14 and a bottom 15, this tank beingsupported on a plurality of legs such as 16 and 17. Leading from thebottom of this tank is a large conduit 18 which is connected to theintake port 19 of the centrifugal pump 13. The pump is driven by anelectric 20. The output side of this pump is connected to a verticalconduit 21 which extends upwardly toward the central housinginto adistributing chamber 22. This chamber is positioned in the center of thehousing and, consists of a cylinder having vertical walls 23 and a topportion 24. In the circular walls are a series of vertical louvers suchas 25, 26 and 27 through which Water, injected into the cylinder, canescape into the interior of the, central housing.

In carrying out the method, it is essential that the pump be ofsufiicient size and capacity to handle a large volume of water in orderthat it will immediately force quantities of Water into the centralhousing or picking chamber whenever the pump is started. The verticallouvers cause the water to be thrown outwardly from the cylinder in anangular relation to the arc of both the cylinder and the housing. Thehousing itself is also circular', having a sheet metal wall portion 28spaced at a substantial distance from and surrounding the cylinder 23.The distributing cylinder 23-extends approximately half the verticaldistance of the entire central housing. Above the circular wall 218 is acircular cone 29 which terminates in a small vertical stack 30.

All about the inside of both the wall 28 and the cone portion 29 are aplurality of feather removing elements which, in the embodiment shown,are a series of resilient stubs of rubber such as 31, 32 and 33. In thebottom 34 of the central chamber are a plurality of drain valves such as35 and 36. These are controlled by outwardly extending rods 37 and 38.Mounted in the storage tank between its outer wall and the outer, wallof the central chamber is a power driven conveyor 39. Leading outwardlyfrom the stack 30 towards the conveyor 39 is a chute 46 having a seriesof bars41 which lie along the chute and extend over the conveyor to,point radially-beyond the outer wall of the storage tank.

It is essential that the water or other through this unit, be held atapredetermined temperature. This temperature would be a temperature suchasv liquid, circulated picked. These temperatures, in general, are 122to 128 degrees or 138 to 145 degrees.-

In order tomaintain. the.- desired temperature, a gas burner 42 ispositioned below the storage tank' and is thermostaticallycontrolled bya conventional thermostat 43 which is connected to atemperature-responsive-valve water is drawn through the conduit 18 fromthe storage:

tank and forced upwardly into the central distributing cylinder 23withina central :operating chamber. Poultry has-been previously lowered intothis chamber through the stack opening 30. A number of birds areintroduced into the-operative areaatone time, the exact number dependingupon the size of the chamber itself.

As the water is ejected through the cylinder into the chamber, it beginsto riseinna state of great turbulence by reason of the. force ofthepump. and by reason of the angular nature of the louvers- However thegeneral direction of flow as shown in .Figure 2 is clockwise. The volumeof the waterintroduced is suflicient that it moves, tumbles, and washesthe bird clockwise within the central chamber. As the birds are moved,they are thrown into contact with thefeather. removing elements, ssuchas 31, 32 and 33, .both by turbulence and by centrifugal force. Sincethetemperature of the water is within normal scalding range, thefeathers are loosened in their sockets as the bird is tumbled. Further,the skin area is thoroughly saturated and the feathers begin to comeout.

The valves such .as 35-and 36 can be adjusted to either permit the waterbeing injected into the central chamber to drain back into the storagetank, or can be set to cause the water to rise to a highersand' higherlevel within the central chamber.

It is obvious that as the water rises, the birds are floated in anupwardly direction. The water finally reaches the stack 30 and begins-tooverflow outwardly and'downwardly through the chute 40. It will beapparent that the floating birds will also be carried through the stackand down the chute. The water returns to the'storage tank on the outsideof the central chamber passing through the conveyor 39.' The conveyor isformed of an open, woven cloth which permits the passage of water butwill catch the loose feathers which are carried by the water. The birdsare separatedfrom the flow of liquid by the angular rods 41, as setforth heretofore, and delivered to a point outside of the machine.

The time that the birds are heldin the central chamber will bedetermined by the amount of water held therein through the manipulationof the drain valves 35 and 36, and. thus the birds maybe held until theyhave moved through the turbulent liquid a .suflicient length of tim tocompletely remove the feathers.

Another embodiment of our invention employing the method hereindescribed is shown in Figure 3. Inthis instance the central defeatheringchamber is a' horizontal tube 61 which may-beef any desired length. Thewater ismoved along the length'of this tube by the pressure of acentrifugal pumpsuch as 62$- The tube should 'be of such diameter as toconveniently accommodate the larger birds and permit them to tumblefreely. Along the inner wall are .a series of feather removing elements;shownin' this embodiment as angular flaps such as 63;and"64',which arepositioned in groups. The angle of the flapsis' variedfrom one group toanotherin order .to create yaryingdegrees of turbulence by disturbingthe'evenflow'offthe water. It is' to be understood that in operationtube-is substantially full of .water. of the tube, are brought intocontact withthe individual 'Ilie.birds,.-as.they. are carried down thelengthgroups of flaps, these flaps being adapted to rub the bird andcause the feathers to be extracted. The tube has portions which areclear of any obstruction, and it is in these areas that the turbulenceof the water acts upon the birds to turn them and tumble them in orderto expose different surfaces to the next succeeding group of featherremoving elements. The birds are finally ejected at the open end'of thetube on an open grillwork 65. Along the lengthof the tube and underneathit is a continuous storage tank 66 which is'heatcd by a series ofburners such as 67 and 68. The liquid is withdrawn from this storagetank to the pump by a'conduit 69. The poultry is introduced into thetubular defeathering section conduit through an opening 70-adjacent thedischarge 71 which is connected to the pump.

It will be at once apparent that the length of this tube can be variedinmanufacture to correspond to the type of the poultry being defeatheredand the degree of dressing desired. The longer the tube, the longer thepoultry will be subjected to'the turbulent movement in the stream of hotwater and the more feather removing elements, such as 63 and 64, will beencountered. Again the method'of defeathering comprises using a largevolume of turbulent water to tumble and roll the birds against featherremoving elements in a confined space. It will be apparent that both themovement of the water and the-contact of the feather removing elementswill cause feathers to be pulled from the bird.

In Figure 4 the device shown is similar to that of Figures 1 and 2except that the central defeathering chamber 81 is of substantialvertical height. It too has a plurality of feathered removing elements82 and 83 about the inner wall. Along one side is a vertical conduit 84which has a series of inwardly projecting jets 85, 86 and 87 whichpermit streams of water to be shot into the interior of the defeatheringchamber. The pressure for these streams of water is provided by acentrifugal pump 88.

The water again is heated, the water being generally.

contained in a remote storage tank 89, and heat being provided in anycommon commercially accepted manner. A bottom valve 90 is provided topermit water to be drained out of the central chamber 81 and transferredto the storage tank 89. This valve may be closed at will in order thatthe vertical tank will fill as water is injected into it through thejets 85, 86 and 87.

Birds are introduced into the machine either through a door 91, orthrough a top opening 92. Again the .water is introduced into themachine in greatvolume and in a manner whereby it will be in extremeturbulence, but generally the direction of movement is clockwise. Birdscarried by the water will thereby be moved in a clockwise direction andthrown against the feather rcmoving elements. water, the birds arefloated in any upwardly direction. As the birds and the water reach thetop of the central defeathering chamber, the level thereof becomes equalto the uppermost extent of the central drain pipe 93. This drain pipeserves as an overflow pipe, and as'the birds, feathers and water moveinto it, the birds are dropped in a downwardly direction until theyreach a series of extracting guides or rods 94 which bring the birds outof the machine in a sideward direction from the overflow pipe. The watercontinues downwardly and returns to the storage tank through a largeconduit 95. I

-In the device shown in Figure 4, the water which is circulated in thecentral chamber is constantly heated and reused, being drained into theremote storage tank 89 through the conduit 95 and withdrawn by the pump88.

Since the water is to be reused, it is necessary to ex tractthe-feathers from this water before it is returned to the storage tank.To accomplish this, we have pro- As the tank gradually fills with the-6. As previously set forth, the bars or grill 94 deflect the pickedbirds out of the stream of moving water. The Water then drops into asmall tank or a catch basin 97. The endless conveyor 96 is of fiemblewire or cloth mesh.

A series of mounting pulleys, such as 98, 99, 100, 101, 102 and 103,serve to carry this endless conveyor down through the catch basin andupward at an angle towards the pulley 181 Where the accumulated feathersare dumped into a Waste vat 104. The conveyor then turns back pastpulleys 102, 103, and 98 and again into the catch basin, always comingdirectly under the flow of Water from the discharge column 93. Once thefeathers have been removed from the Water, this Water goes through thedischarge conduit 95 into the central storage tank 89.

Again it Will be apparent that Warm water in large quantities isemployed as a carrier to circulate poultry through a defeatheringchamber Where the birds were tumbled and revolved and kept at above bodytemperature and brought into contact With feather removing elements. Asheretofore set forth, the combination of a scalding and pickingoperation holds the bird at a high temperature such that the featherswill be easily removed.

It Will be apparent that the utilization of a large volume of turbulenthot Water Within a confined area not only holds the temperature of thebird at a high level, causing the relaxation of the root pockets, butalso increases the degree of penetration of the Water and the heat itcarries. The Water also acts as a lubricant to prevent the bruising andbarking or injury of the bird by the feather removing elements. Therapid movement of the bird in all directions causes all surfaces to beexposed to picking action of both the Water and the feather removingelements. Experimentation has proved that birds dressed in the presenceof a large volume of hot water at comparatively low temperatures, suchas 122 degrees, Will retain the outer skin or bloom intact and Will havea high yellow color. It is a Well known fact that a bird with this outerskin or bloom still intact is less subject to deterioration and Willkeep its saleable appearance and freshness longer.

It should also be apparent that the various stages of the method used inconnection With the devices shown in Figures 1, 2 and 4 may be varied ortimed to secure the best results with various types and sizes of birds.For example, it may be desirable to subject the birds to less turbulenceduring a preliminary scalding period. This may be accomplished byoperating the pump at a relatively IO'W speed and closing or partiallyclosing some of the valves, 35 and 6 in Figure 1, or valves in Figure 4.

The birds being processed may be subject to maximum turbulence anddefeathering action for any length of time desired by proper adjustmentand control of the flow of Water into and out of the defeatheringchamber. It should also be obvious that these various stages may becontrolled automatically by the application of the proper motorizedvalves, switches and timers to control the speed of the pump and theoperation of the valves.

Although we have described several exemplary embodiments of ourinvention, it is apparent that modifications thereof may be made bythose skilled in the art. Such modifications may be made Withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of our invention as set forth in theappended claims.

We claim as our invention:

1. The method of defeathering poultry comprising immersing said poultryin a large volume of heated liquid, moving said liquid and said poultrydirectionally in a turbulent state and causing said poultry to befloated and tumbled freely in said liquid, and subjecting said poultryto a stationary scraping action removing the feathers therefrom duringthe movement thereof.

2. The method of processing poultry and comprising immersing the poultryin a heated liquid, causing the liquid and said poultry to be moved in agenerally circumferential path and causing said poultry to be floatedand tumled about freely therein and to be thrown outwardly therein bycentrifugal force, and subjecting said poultry to a stationary rubbingor scraping action removing the feathers therefrom during the movementthereof.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,389,404 Barker Nov. 20, 1945 2,754,539 Toti July 17, 1956 2,777,158Pitts et al. Jan. 15, 1957 2,777,159 Pitts et al Jan. 15, 1957 2,790,199Zebarth Apr. 30, 1957 2,805,443 Toti Sept. 10, 1957 2,813,298 Barker etal. Nov. 19, 1957

